First Leg Quarters and Turkey Legs

[majorhophead]

I decided to play off of the Slaughterhouse Poultry Brine.

Here's my recipe:

1 1/2 Gallons of Water
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup of Kosher Salt
2 1/2 Tsp of Backyard Rub
2 Tsp Rosemary
2 Tsp Thyme
1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce
1/8 Cup Worcestershire
1 Garlic Head Chopped in Half

Hopefully it turns out well..

I will make more posts as the day goes on... a little worried about the smoker getting hot enough. I tried to do some burgers last night to test it out (grilling not smoking) and I had to end up putting the grate right on top of the pan with the lump charcoal in it.

Thanks guys!

 

[majorhophead]

Forgot to give a shout out to thespicehouse.com in which I got the awesome fresh spices... this is the backyard rub:

We gave this rub the name "Back-of-the-Yards" in honor of the area of Chicago south of 39th Street, between Halsted and Western Avenues. This part of the city has a proud history as home to many hard-working immigrants who found work in the meat industry and who became the backbone of Chicago. Hand mixed from: Tellicherry black pepper, garlic, Kosher flake salt, sugar, red bell peppers, shallots, parsley.

http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/...r-butchers-rub

Edit: One more thing to add... I lost my temperature cord and can't measure the temp. Do you think this will be a problem? There is a temperature gauge on the outside of the smoker that goes from warm, ideal to hot.

 

[majorhophead]

Some bad news... The foil packet caught fire and flamed my bottom rack consisting of the turkey legs and one leg quarter. They aren't totally charred, but what I did was put the burned wood chips and some fresh soaked chips in the water pan and stuck that directly on the coals. I also moved the charred to the top and the leg quarters to the bottom. We'll see how this works. I didn't think I was doing too bad before that =p

 

[the dude abides]

Let's hope for the best. Give us an update when you get a chance.

 

[majorhophead]

Things look ok, but the temperature was dropping so I threw on a couple more pieces of lump charcoal and added some more hickory...I'm at almost two hours. How long should it be for these?

 

[sumosmoke]

Excellent pictures so far and it looks like you're on the way to some tasty bird! Can't wait to see more pics!

 

[majorhophead]

Well, the chicken and turkey didn't turn out exactly how I would've wanted, but it has been four hours and I am tired! I will finish them in the oven tomorrow and see how it comes out. They don't taste horrible, but don't blow my sox off. Not as tender as I would've thought.

 

[the dude abides]

What was the final temp of the chix?

How long was it in the 40* - 140* danger zone?

 

[travcoman45]

From the sounds a thins, I'd say ya was runnin a low temp. I do whole chickens in 5-6 hours at 275*. Without bein able ta accuaretly measure yer temps, I thin ya was hangin out more in the low 200's most a the time.

Each smoke is a learnin experience. Hope ya can salvage yer bird. Good luck on the next smoke, never give up.

 

[majorhophead]

I lost the temperature cord so I don't know. I don't even know if it WAS in the danger zone. I'm going to pick up a couple more thermometers this week and see if they have spare cords...

One last thing, the rub that I used was really spicy and that's not was I was going for. The prominent flavor was cayenne pepper even though there really wasn't that much in it. Any good rubs for quarters that you all can recommend?

 

[rivet]

Definitely recommend Shooter Ricks Copperhead Snake Bitten Chicken Rub.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=73605

That's some good stuff!

Here's a post of mine where I used it on leg quarters (w/q-vue)
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=75337

Good luck!